What Happened to a Denominational Movement?

A few days ago I was thumbing through a Free Methodist History book and read its little section on church planting. The book was written in the mid 1980's and the author was celebrating a church planting movement within the denomination. Between 1979-1983 there were 100 new Free Methodist churches planted in the US!

Read these words of excitement and energy from author Donald Demary:

"Here and there across the North American continent, fresh church planting projects arise and we now begin to see faster growth in the denomination. Some believe we can have a total of 2,000 Free Methodist churches by the year 2000. Actually, that would mean an increase of only one and a half churches a year for each conference."

2,000 FM churches by the year 2000. What a great vision! What a contagious attitude of anticipation for the spread of a movement!

Yet, in June of 2009 it was reported that there are 967 FM churches in the US, which is tragically well short of the anticipated 2000.

Which begs the question, "what happened?" What happened to the movement? What happened to the passion and commitment to starting new churches? What happened to the bold, apostolic leadership? What happened to the missional impulse that swept across the denomination? Perhaps a bigger question is, why are denominations lagging behind in the planting of new churches?

I cannot help but read Demary's words, consider the reality and be troubled. Yet, I am also challenged by them. My hope and prayer is that this blip-on-the-radar-screen denomination of which I am part will once again be committed to starting new works to reach the unchurched across the land, and that 2,000 or 4,000 or even 10,000 new churches might be a reality and not just a paragraph of wishful thinking in a history book.

I know at least one leader who is committed to such a movement.